It seems like this should be easy to do but I haven't heard about it before. Most wifi routers have a usb slot where you could put a memory stick or external hard drive filled with e-books or movies or whatever. Broadcast it unsecured with an appropriate network name and let anyone connect to download stuff.
You wouldn't connect it to the internet, it would just be an access point for the stored drive. You'd probably have to make it read-only so that people don't delete stuff or upload viruses or cp. It seems like it could be used as a node for a mesh network too but I don't know enough about how those operate.
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[–] flaxom 0 points 15 points 15 points (+15|-0) ago (edited ago)
I was about to recommend piratebox which I've used in the past with a little openwrt capable router, but I see the project has been abandoned. Probably still workable though if you want to get one running.
I ran a customized one of these for a while using a long range directional wi-fi antenna, a GL-AR150 router, usb stick, and a usb battery bank, most of which I had sitting around already. Kept it in my vehicle for a while last summer and would run it when large events were taking place near my office. Battery would last for days. Had plans to try floating one with a balloon over some event with thousands of people, but never tried it.
The problem I ran into is that nobody ever fucking connected. My operation was missing a critical component which would be informing people to connect to a specific network AND connect to a certain url only available on that network (there are ways to redirect any request, but it wasn't a feature available in piratebox if I remember right). Whether keeping the thing in one location for a long time or deploying it at some event, awareness was the key that I was missing. There's also a leap of trust users would need to take just to connect their device to a strange open network.
edit: like dis
[–] goatsandbros 0 points 12 points 12 points (+12|-0) ago
Name the network "nigger party van" or "JFK sex tapes" or something. Worth a shot.
[–] Shishamo 0 points 6 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago
You could also get extremely basic and put fliers on telephone poles that make it seem mysterious and interesting.
[–] watts2db ago
😂 LMAO
[–] svipbo 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Redirecting a URL must be possible as many free wifi networks redirect you to a sign-in screen.
[–] hwong 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Ahhhh Piratebox is dead? I was going to set one up this spring on a solar panel at our little neighborhood library box thing for ebooks and movies. sad day...
[–] [deleted] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
[–] QualityShitposter 0 points 8 points 8 points (+8|-0) ago
Excellent idea. Sounds like something spooks would do for info drops, which is probably why the idea hasn’t been promoted.
[–] RoboGoat2000 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Using a raspberry pi might be an efficient way to do this on a small scale. That's what piratebox was designed to do. That is, to share files on an isolated LAN. But, as flaxom already posted, piratebox has been abandoned.
[–] Diogenes_The_Cynic 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Thats a great start for a mesh net.
[–] Pointyball 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
Put a battery on one and set the SSID to ITS OK TO BE WHITE. Throw it in the bushes of a college campus common area.
[–] albatrosv15 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago (edited ago)
http://nethood.org/links/
That's what jews use to subvert the host nations(look at refugeehotspot, for example).
[–] FoundingUncle 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Very few people will find it, unless you put it in a very heavily trafficed place. So many kids are brainwashed by copyright jews that they will call the cops on you.
[–] [deleted] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
[–] OneOfTheBoys 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
Yes! Also instead of "Click here to accept the terms and conditions" before you connect you could have something like "click here to accept the holocaust never happened".